Electric contact gripping device



May 30, 1933. c. D. FATOR ELECTRIC CONTACT GRIPPING DEVICE E Y m M Em WW T n ,m Y 6 5 6 I |l |l N kw 4 Patented May 30, 1933 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE CHARLES D. FATOR, OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY, WHEELERFIELD, HONOLULU,

TERRITORY OF HAWAII ELECTRIC CONTACT emrrnve DEVICE Original applicationfiled November 28, 1931, Serial No. 577,761. Divided and thisapplication filed November 4, 1932 Serial No. 641,257.

(GRANTED UNDER THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1883, AS AMENDED APRIL 30, 1928; 3700. G. 757) This invention described herein may be manufactured and usedby or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the paymentto me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to an improved electric contact gripping device,and more particularly it is directed to a device of this character foruse on hand controls of a vehicle for determining the intensity underwhich a driver operates the vehicle. The said invention in an improvedelectric contact gripping device is a division of my application, SerialNo. 577,761, filed November 28, 1931.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an electric contactgripping device for use on the hand controls of all manner of aircraftfor closing an electrical circuit when a predetermined excessivepressure is applied by a student pilot to the controls of,

the aircraft.

Another object of my invention is to pro.- vide an electric contactgripping device which is simple to operate, cheap to construct, whichmay be readily applied to the control stick of an aircraft, and which isnot liable to getoutof order. Y

In the aviation service over-tenseness is a he must learn to relax onthe controls, that,

is'to use his -muscles naturally and avoid over-straining, and not takea death grip on the controls which usually is the case of the beginner.This is usually quite diflicult for the beginner, as he must be remindedquite often to relax. The sooner the student Inasters the art ofrelaxing the sooner he learns the feel of the controls necessary tolearn to fly. Only excessive over-tenseness can be readily noticed bythe instructor in the stue 45 dent, so when the student is only slightlytensed-up he may plod along for sometime, gradually lagging behind theother student pilots on account of the handicap of his tenseness. V

It is therefore the aim and purpose of this invention to provide animproved means in the form of an electric contact gripping device fordetermining the intensity under which a student pilot operates theaircraft, the electric contact gripping device being mounted on the handcontrol of the aircraft and adapted to close an electrical circuitincluding an indicator when a prede termined excessive pressure isapplied by a stultent pilot to the hand control of the aircra With theabove and other objects and advantages in view, the inventionspecifically consists in features of construction, arrangement, andoperation of parts which will 5 hereinafter appear. For purposes ofillustration the invention will be described and claimed with referenceto the accompanyin drawingin which like numbers distinguish like partsand in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of my improved electriccontact gripping device applied to the control stick of an aircraft.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view thereof 15 taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a modi- Ified form of contactgripping mechanism.

In the illustrated embodiment characterizing my invention, my improvedcontact gripping device indicated generally; by A comprises alongitudinally extending cylindrical casing 1 having transverse alignedapertures 2 intermediate the ends thereof in which plunger buttons 3 aremovably mounted. These plunger buttons 3 are made longitudinally upwardin the cylindrical casing -1 and terminate in inwardly bent 10o pingdevice Awas gripped abnormally for ends 8 to provide contact points forthe resilient contact members 7 1 The upper end of the casing 1 isclosed by a removable cap 9 made of any desirable material such as wood,which is connected to the'casing lby any suitable means such as by screw10.

Mounted on the exterior of the caslng 1 are metallic spring arms11'Which lie adja'-" cent the outer ends of the plunger buttons 3.

These spring arms 11 are shaped to correspond to the general form of thecaslng 1 and havertheir upper ends rigidly secured to the upper end ofthe casing 1 while at their lower ends they'are free to slide up and 1down on the casing 1 when the gripping device A is gripped and operatedby the hand.

Surrounding the whole grip assembly is a as live springy rubber.

cover 12 made of any suitable material such Connected to the lower endof the resilient contacting members 7 are ends of electric conductors 13and 14 of an electrical indicating circuit (not I shown) in which thegripping device A is contact members 760 and spring arms 11a are usedwhlch are equally spaced around the cylindrical casing 1ahaving'apertures 2a in which the push buttons 3a are mounted. One oftheresilient contact members 7 a is electrically' neutral and insulatedfrom the other two'contact membersl'a. Said neutral contact 70 contactswith the other' contacts" 'Zato complete the 'circuit between them.-

This givesa more uniform resultrth an the 1' device'shown in Figsll and2-of the draw-' ing because 'of the increased number of contactsiAll-three buttons3a if pressed in closes a circuit including anindicator (not shown) as would be the case when the gripoperating theindicator in the circuit.

To install my, contact gripping device A on the; control stick of'anaircraft as an ac cessory, the. old gripping portion would be sawed offjust below the grip and my improved contact gripping device inserted andbolted or riveted thereon.

For initial in stallation the gripping device A could bemade as part ofthe stick, in which case the conductors 13 and '14 thereof'for thesignallin'g circuit (not shown) would pass down through the stick andout at the bottom in- It will thusbe seen" I A provides a highly novel,simple and efiicient steadof out above the point of attachment as shownin Fig. 1'of the drawing which illustrates the gripping device A usedfor accessory installation.

that this invention form ofelectric contact gripping device thatcomprising a cylindrical casing having tons engaging said spring pressedcontact 'points and a cover provided on sald grip is well adapted forall the purposes desig nated. Even though it is herein shown anddescribed that my invention comprises certain features of construction,arrangement and operation, it is nevertheless to be understood thatchanges may :be. made therein without departing from the spirit or scopeof my invention, which broadly comprises a grip control switch in theform of a handle 7 5 transverse. aligned apertures intermediate the endsthereof, a plug mounted in said casing, resilient contact members havingcontact points on their upper ends and terminals on the lower endsthereof mounted on said :plug, grip actuated depression means comprisingbuttons mounted in theapertures of. said casing andresilient hand,-gripping means engaging said buttons, said butcontrol switch.

Now that I have disclosed my invention, what I claim as new and usefulis:

' 1. A grip control switch in the form of a handle, comprising springpressed contact points having terminals, grip actuated depressing meanscomprising movable buttons and resilient hand grippingimeans engagingsaid buttons, said-buttons engaging said spring pressed contact .points.

'2. A grip control switch intheform of a handle, comprising a casinghaving apertures intermediate theends thereof, buttons movably mountedin said apertures, a plug 10 mounted in saidcasing, springpressedcontact points having terminals mounted on said plug, and resilient handgripping means engaglng said buttons, SZLlCl buttons engag ng saidspring pressed contact points. A grip control. switch intheform of ahandle, comprising a cylindrical casing having transverse alignedapertures intermediate the endsthereof,buttons movably mounted in saidapertures, a..plug mounted 1n-sa1d caslng, spring pressed 1 contactpoints having terminals mounted on saidplug, re-

silient hand gripping means engaging said buttons, said buttons engagingsaid :spring pressed contact points and cover on the outer surface ofsaidresilienthand gripping means and surrounding said casing.

- .CI-IARLES'DIFATOR.

